Tag Archives: proposal

What a great weekend! My sister’s boyfriend surprised her with a trip to visit us for her birthday. He told her about it Wednesday night, they were on a plane 24 hours later and ENGAGED 24 hours after that! What a whirlwind!! It’s crazy how your life can change in a few short hours. Chelsey went from planning to spend the weekend hanging out in Atlanta, to being sent on the scavenger hunt of a lifetime that led her to a gorgeous cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, where she would find her future husband waiting to propose. It was seriously one of the sweetest moments I’ve ever gotten to witness and I’m so grateful that he let us be a part of it.

Did I mention that on top of all of that fun it was also Chelsey’s birthday weekend? Lucky duck! I considered baking her a cake but Chelsey’s a little bit of an oddball when it comes to cake. The girl doesn’t like icing. I know, I know. Who doesn’t like icing? When she was little, our mom would bake her an icing-less funfetti cake straight from the box. And while a little bit of vanilla icing wouldn’t have hurt anyone, I have to admit, funfetti cake is pretty fabulous all by itself. Good call, Chelsey.

So no, I wasn’t feeling a cake for this particular birthday celebration. Instead, I thought a few dozen Softbatch Funfetti Sugar Cookies would be even better! Chelsey loves sugar cookies, soft batch cookies, shortbread cookies and…you guessed it…funfetti. Naturally, these cookies were perfection for her. I sent her a photo of them as she boarded the plane and she sent me back an enthusiastic, “OMMMMGGGGGG!!!” I love welcoming people to our home with fresh baked goods. There’s just something about a plate of warm cookies waiting on the table to make people feel special and celebrated, and we had a lot to celebrate this weekend! Congratulations Chelsey and Seth!! We are all so excited for you to begin this new adventure together and can’t wait to celebrate this and all of your other special moments in life!

To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugar, egg, extract, and beat on medium-high speed until well-creamed, light and fluffy, about 5 minutes (or use a hand mixer and beat for at least 7 minutes). Do not shortcut the creaming process; make sure dough is very light in color and fluff, stop to scrape down the sides of the mixer as necessary.

Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, optional salt, and mix until just combined, about 1 minute.

Add the sprinkles and beat momentarily to incorporate, less than 1 minute, or fold in by hand.

Using a cookie scoop, form heaping two tablespoon mounds. Place mounds on a large plate, flatten mounds slightly with your palm, cover with plasticwrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 5 days, before baking. Do not bake with warm dough because cookies will spread and bake thinner and flatter.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, line two baking sheets with silpats or spray with cooking spray. Place mounds on baking sheets, spaced at least 2 inches apart (I bake 8 cookies per sheet). Bake for 8 minutes, or until edges have set and tops are just beginning to set, even if undercooked, pale, and glossy in the center. These cookies should not turn golden or brown at all and should stay white. Do not bake longer than 9 minutes for soft cookies because they firm up as they cool. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before removing and transferring to a rack to finish cooling.

Store cookies airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored airtight in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.